Page 7 of The Lady’s Sweet Revenge (Safely in Scotland #3)

H arlow was indeed grateful for Lord Breckenridge’s honorable offer of marriage. Not that she’d given him a chance to actually offer, for if she had she might have felt forced to accept.

After all, she’d made a pledge to herself on that ship that she would accept the next offer of marriage she received, so she might know a man’s touch. It was something she wanted more than anything. Or perhaps not quite as much as seeing her uncle pay for his crimes.

Even with revenge on her mind, there was a part of her that wished she’d allowed Reese to finish his proposal so she might have accepted.

For he was striking and kind with a sharp sense of humor.

But she’d also promised she wouldn’t marry someone out of obligation and how much more obliging must the earl feel than to have to care for a woman who washed ashore? No. That was not the way.

She might not yet know the way, but marriage was not foremost on her mind at the moment. For she had an uncle to torture.

In the end, Harlow wrote a letter to her eldest brother at his home instead of sending a missive directly to her father. Reese said it would allow the information to arrive without the possibility of her uncle intercepting it.

Dearest Brother,

She scratched through the salutation and wrote something David was sure to know had come from her.

Dearest Gravy,

“Gravy?” Reese asked from where he stood at her shoulder.

“It’s a name we called him when we wished to irritate him.

We would shout ‘Gravy Davy’ and he would hate it, though I’m not sure why he took such offense.

Gravy is quite delicious. It wasn’t nearly as bad as ‘James smells like the Thames’ or ‘Luke-oo is a cuckoo.’ Henry and Thomas were generally spared since their names do not easily rhyme with anything vulgar.

” She scrunched up her nose. Surely she’d be able to think of something now that she was older with a more robust vocabulary. But not now. Revenge.

“Children really are the worst of Society, are they not?” Reese said. “I feel blessed for not having had siblings. I had three great friends at Heriots. And, of course, my size kept most of the boys from pestering me.”

He tilted his head to the side. “What names did they call you?”

She laughed. “Nothing clever enough to rhyme with my name, I can tell you that.” Without offering more details she went back to her letter.

Please read this letter entirely before sharing with anyone else. It is of the utmost importance. Not everyone in our family can be trusted.

I’m sure by now you have learned I was taken in the park by a pack of brigands and likely fear for my life. I’ll assure you I am well, but for a terrible knock to the head and nearly drowning during my escape from a ship carrying me to Scotland.

She looked up to where Reese was still reading over her shoulder and he gave a nod of approval. It was what he had suggested she tell them first, for her family was likely worried to death.

I was found by Lord Breckenridge, and he has offered me refuge here at Slains Castle until I am able to travel.

I would ask you to relay this information to mother and father in private.

It is imperative that Uncle Edgar not learn of my escape as it is possible he is somehow involved in my kidnapping.

This was also at the behest of Reese. While she had wanted to tell David to rip the man limb from limb, Reese stated that they didn’t have all the facts and that giving one enough rope to hang oneself was sometimes the best tactic.

As it seemed Lord Breckenridge—despite not having siblings—was a formidable planner, she’d gone along with it.

Besides she felt she’d be better suited to bestow her acts of revenge on the man when they were not in Polite Society.

And there seemed to be plenty of room on the estate to hide the blighter’s body.

“You have that look again,” Reese said with a slight wince. “The one that makes me very glad I wasn’t the one who betrayed ye.”

“I’m sorry. It just makes me so mad. I think if I stopped being angry I might break down into tears so I will grip hold of my ire and use it to make the man wish he’d never been born.”

“Aye. Anger is a good distraction to be sure. Keeps ye from dwelling on what might have happened.”

She nodded in agreement. The truth was, she didn’t allow herself to travel very far down that trail for she knew what would have surely happened if she’d not gotten off that ship and even the few times she remembered the men talking on the ship gave her a shiver up her spine.

“I was very fortunate. Not only to have escaped the ship but to have washed ashore on your beach. And had such a fine girl find me,” she said as she scratched Belle behind the ear where she liked it best.

“I’ll remind ye, it wasn’t Belle who carried you up to the castle and had to wash his boots.”

She felt her cheeks warm with embarrassment.

“I’m sorry.”

“Nay, don’t worry yourself over it. I’m just making sure you like me better than the dog is all.”

Liking Lord Breckenridge didn’t seem to be a problem.

She cleared her throat and turned back to the paper to continue her missive to her brother.

You should soon receive a request for ransom, but make sure father does not pay it. One, because I am no longer with the kidnapper and two, because he had no intention of returning me home safely even upon payment of the ransom.

Please tell everyone else in Society that I fell from my horse in the park and was taken to rest with a relative in Bath so no one will question my absence. There is a second letter enclosed with mine. Keep it until you receive the letter of ransom and then share it with the entire family.

I believe Uncle Edgar will offer to come retrieve me in Scotland. If he does, let him come.

She was likely making the face again as she considered what she might do when he arrived in Scotland. As bloodthirsty as she’d been she realized she wasn’t able to cause him physical harm. Not just because it was illegal, but because she didn’t think she could carry out such a thing.

She would consider the perfect way to make him pay for what he did. She would have plenty of time while waiting for her letter to arrive and him to come north.

I know this all sounds like something from a Theodore Stonecliff novel, but I assure you, it is true.

“You read Theodore Stonecliff novels?” he asked.

“Yes, and if you think to scold me for reading books more suited for a man, I’ll remind you I have five older brothers and most of what I read is passed to me from them when they’ve finished with it.”

“I was not going to deliver a scold. I would actually say they are suited for women as well as men. After all, Theodore Stonecliff is in fact a woman.”

“Why do you think so?” She thought to the stories and the writing style, but had no inkling if this was true.

“I don’t think it. I know her. She is married to my dear friend.”

“Theodore Stonecliff, a married woman?” She shook her head. “I am not so ninny-headed to believe such a thing. No husband would allow his wife such a freedom. How many times must I remind you of the five older brothers before you realize I’ll not be so gullible?”

He chuckled. “Believe me or no, but it’s true. I’ve no reason to mislead ye. It would seem your five older brothers have left you quite cynical.”

It was true Lord Breckenridge had no reason to mislead her, but she knew well from dealing with her brothers that one did not need a reason to make a jest except for the amusement of it. And perhaps he was correct about her being cynical as well. If only slightly.

His claim seemed almost so unbelievable as to be true, and so far, Lord Breckenridge had not been caught in a lie. She decided to set judgment aside until she’d come to know him better. She would think on the possibility of such a thing later.

If you were to have any doubts as to the authenticity of this letter, please recall that I know you were responsible for breaking father’s pistol when you dropped it from the attic window.

And since you and I were the only ones there, only I know the truth.

And now Lord Breckenridge as he is reading over my shoulder, but I will swear him to secrecy as well.

By the way, I don’t recall why you said he was unsuitable for marriage, he has been most respectable.

Your sister,

Lo

“Lo?”

“Apparently it is tiresome for young men to speak two syllable words frequently, so they shorten them to single syllable words for ease of use. Dave, Hen, Thom. Luke and James remained Luke and James.”

He nodded.

“What happened with the pistol?”

“We were forever stealing them from our father’s study to shoot at things propped on a fence. One particular time he found it missing before we could sneak back to return it. Father was livid because… well, it was quite dangerous, but not the most dangerous thing we’d done.”

“Really?” He shook his head. It seemed she made him do that quite often.

“Anyway, we had planned to toss it from Davey’s window, but he said it would be obvious he had it because it would be found on the ground outside his window. So he and I went up to the attic and tossed it out the front of the house to land in the drive. Where none of our windows faced.”

“Quite a brilliant plan.”

“There is a reason none of us were maimed or killed, my lord. We were very clever.”

“Deviously so. I will take the truth of the pistol to my grave, Lady Lo.” He smiled. “My, but that is so much easier to say than Lady Harlow.”

She chuckled at his jest, but she also noticed the heat on her cheeks. She rather liked hearing the shortened name on his lips. And in his accent. Not that she could say why.

With her letter finished, she passed over the lap desk so Lord Breckenridge could write the missive that would accompany hers.

She leaned over his shoulder as he had done while he wrote and noticed how close she was to his neck. She could smell his skin, salty from the sea with a hint of citrus and sunshine, though he’d spent most of the day inside with her.

She shook the silly thought away. What did it matter what the man smelled like or that it was pleasant?

She watched what he wrote and focused on her plot for revenge.

Greetings,

I have some troubling news as I’ve found your relative on the shore of my estate. She’s alive, but has not yet woken. She has quite the injury to her head, you see. I discovered her identity from the locket she was wearing with the seal of the Ardmere dukedom and wrote to you straightaway.

“You would have fit in well with my brothers, my lord. You pen a compelling letter. It is quite believable.”

“The trick to deceit is to follow the truth as closely as ye can. It is less likely you will forget something and get tangled up in the lie.”

“I shall have to remember that.” She’d also need to remember that this man seemed quite skilled at lying. And apparently she was not as skilled in detecting a trustworthy gentleman from a rotter like her uncle.

She shook the thought away so not to be called out for glaring yet a third time. Leaning closer again, she sniffed the man as he continued writing.

She is safe and comfortable at my home. Please send for her at Slains Castle near Aberdeenshire.

Lord Breckenridge

“That should lure him here where I might punish him for what he’s done,” she said and if her laugh sounded a bit evil, well the man didn’t call her out for it.

“Aye. That’s what you wished, yes?”

“Yes. Now I have time to figure out how I want to punish him.”

Something that would surely cause him the same level of pain she’d felt at his betrayal. Something quite heinous indeed.